Customer Reviews

Complete Science Fiction Sessions

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At last! SCIENCE FICTION on CD -- 24-bit mapped, and given the full Mosaic-style treatment by Michael Cuscuna. Included are 2 alternate takes and 1 never before released track from the original 1971 sessions, along with all the material from those sessions originally released in 1982 as BROKEN SHADOWS.

SCIENCE FICTION is the first Ornette record I heard, in 1975, and I still love it. Most of it sounds quite like the great Atlantic recordings of 1959-62, with Charlie Haden on bass, either Ed Blackwell or Billy Higgins on drums, and Don Cherry or Bobby Bradford on trumpet (and all 5 on some tracks). Dewey Redman, in Ornette's working band of the time, also plays on many of the tracks. The twist is that there are several vocal tracks -- the 2 with Asha Puthli, the female pop/classical singer from Bombay, are heartbreakingly beautiful. (Some critics did not approve, but they weren't listening!) The title track features the poet David Henderson, and it truly sounds like Science Fiction. Two more vocal tracks, from BROKEN SHADOWS, are more conventional, and frankly can be safely skipped. A highlight of the set is "Law Years," one of Ornette's best known and often covered compositions (by Old and New Dreams and Ken Vandermark, among others). The variety of styles and textures made the original SCIENCE FICTION, to me, Ornette's greatest accomplishment as a cohesive album. (Be aware that many critics disagreed.) There is a wrenching intensity to every track on the original album, the first 8 of the 19 collected here, making a statement greater than the sum of the individual pieces, a testimony to Ornette's compositional vision. It is interesting to find that "School Work" is the theme used in DANCING IN YOUR HEAD, Ornette's first electric Prime Time recording from 1976. That was to be Ornette's new direction following this work, so SCIENCE FICTION stands as the last great recording before Ornette's "Second Period."

Absolutely essential!

When all is said and done, these will go down as some of Ornette's greatest works. By the time he did these, he was very tight with Cherry, Haden, Higgins, Blackwell, and Redman so anything he did with those musicians was outstanding.

Some of the cuts (Civilization Day, Street Woman, Law Years, Country Town Blues) more or less follow the Atlantic model (see "Beauty is a Rare Thing")

There also are two very beautiful songs (What Reason Could I Give and All My Life) sung by a fabulous Indian singer (who later appeared on a recording by Henry Threadgill), and some more densely layered compositions (Rock the Clock, Science Fiction, Jungle Is A Skyscraper) with sizzling energy that captures the times they were recorded in.

There may be a few selections which are half-baked, but this is a box set whose purpose is to document a series of sessions.

Don't miss this masterpiece!

While other reviewers have mentioned that it would be useful to hear earlier Ornette albums to have some frame of reference for this one, it's the first Coleman album I ever heard: That said, I became absolutely immersed in it. The variation created by using so many different group configurations, keeps proceedings consistently strong and simultaneously varied. The tracks featuring the Indian vocalist are absolutely breathtaking, and Coleman's playing on these albums is at once obtuse and very catchy. While this music may be complex, it still manages to retain accessibility and warmth. This is the Coleman album I will keep coming back to.

Since writing my original review of this album, I have acquired "Beauty is a Rare Thing". While I would say that most of that material is somewhat more "essential" than the Complete Science Fiction Sessions, I still stand by my claim that this is as good an introduction as any. Other great starting points would be Change of the Century, The Shape of Jazz to Come, or the aforementioned boxed set if you're willing to take the plunge. You'll probably want to anyways once you get your feet wet.

this collection of music represents a groundbreaking period in modern american music. ornette put together the perfect ensemble(s) to accomplish the task and they performed beautifully. the whole record is a wonderful meditation on and sublime interpretation of the whole of american music up to 1970.

none of ornette's stuff is for the casual listener, of course, so it's worth the time and effort to peruse his earlier works to build a frame of reference for this record. i consider this to be the pinnacle of ornette's recorded work - which is not to say i don't love his later stuff. but these recordings seem to me the essence of ornette's contribution to music.

Yea, Im chiming in ,but, Im compelled. From Jelly Roll Morton to Ornette Coleman, what a BLAST! Its all Hear.... Where have I been? Im glad this album found me. Important&Pivotal album in music,imo, you'll hear it too. Blow Man! Blow!

I add another 5 star review; I wish I could give it more. I won't speak to the historical context and significance of these sets, others have done that. I limit my review to the visceral impact of listening. Coleman and the whole band are absolutely brilliant throughout. Lyrical, surprising (of course), laying it down jamming - this record really goes. All the players excel on these recordings at solos and there is no denying what is going on there. The ensemble playing really made an impression on me though.

I just wish I had discovered this material 20 years ago.

In one day, several jazz artists were eliminated from the Columbia label: Charles Mingus, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Ornette Coleman. The last artist axed was pretty despicable since he only recorded 2 albums for the label: "Science Fiction" and "Broken Shadows" (not counting "Skies of America" which was an orchestrial effort). Now for all of us Ornette fans we're able to relish both these sessions on a 2 disc set, "The Science Fiction Sessions". Along with some unissued tracks, Ornette re-unites with his sidemen, past and present, like Dewey Redman, Billy Higgins, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell, Bobby Bradford, Don Cherry,etc. Coupled with 2 soloist, Africain American and Indian, Coleman entrances us with his unique melodies and improvisations. Some of the tracks like "School Days" were featured in the Sean Connery movie, "Finding Forrester".

this is a collection of two ornette albums that were previously unavailable on cd in the united states, Broken Shadows and Science Fiction. these two albums, comprised here as one, are lost holes in the vast Ornette Coleman discography. The instrumentation is quite ride spread, including some very interesting vocal pieces. all in all any Ornette fan should buy this and listen to it regularly. it is excellent.